Wire rope or cable clamp.



A. P. McBRlDE.

WIRE ROPE 0R CABLE CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24. m4.

1,219,015. Patented Mar.13,1917.

f lililllllli WIT/VESSES: l/V VEN TOR roR/vEr I ALBERT P. MGBBIBE, OF INDEPENDEE, KANSAS.

W'IRE ROPE OR CABLE CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.v

Patenten Mar. 1s, 1917.

Application led July 24, 1914. Serial No. 852,924.

- cable clamps of that character for use in drilling oil wells and the like,'and my primary object is to produce means whereby the wire rope or cable of a drilling apparatus maybe securely clamped or released quickly. j

Another object is to produce removable clamping slips or wear plates for the jaws of the clamp, which cannot become accidentally detached from said jaws.

lVith these objects in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed;

and in order that it maybe fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1, is an elevation of a part of a drilling apparatus equipped with clamping jaws embodying my invention.

Fig. 2, is a to plan view of the jaws.

Fig. 3, is a reduced vertical section taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2. j

Fig. 4, is a vertical transverse section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2.

In the said drawing, 1 indicates what is usually known as the main screw, and mounted upon the same for adjustment purposes, is the usual sleeve 2 provided with handles 3, a ball bearing 4 being interposed between the lower end of the sleeve and the collar 5 on the lower end of screw 1, and secured on the sleeve is a cross head 6 provided with openings 7, for the reception of the pendent links 8, a cross pin or bolt 9 securing the links reliably in position.

Pivoted on the lower ends of the links is the clamp, which consists of a pair of mem-l bers 10, each provided with an upwardly projecting perforated lug 11, for the reception of one of the links S, the latter'being adapted to swing toward and from each other to accommodate pivotal movement Vof the members 10, one of the same being provided with a series of inwardly projecting lugs 12 and the other member with lugs 13, fitting between the lugs 12. These lugs are interlocked-together like knuckles 'of a hinge andthe pivot bolt 14 extends through them land is engaged at its lower` end by a nut 15.

The members 10 forward of the pivot bolt 14 are formed with extended vertical jaws 16, these jaws being of considerably greater length than the depth oithe members be-v tween their upper and lower faces as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. The lugs 11' rise to a higher plane than the jaws 16.`

The jaws 16 are. provided with dove-tail grooves 17 for their full length and dovetailed in said grooves are clamping slips or wear plates 18, provided at their upper ends with outturned arms 19 resting on the upper endsof theA jaws and secured thereto by cap screws 20, the inner edges of the slips or wear plates being provided with rounded vertical grooves 21 whereby to receive and e'ectively grip a drill carrying cable, not shown. Y

The portions of the members 10 projecting rearwardly or in the opposite direction from the pivotal point oi the members to the jaws thereof, are horizontally bifurcated as at 22, shown in Figs. 3 and 4,'and fitting in said bifurcations are blocks 23 provided with vertical trunnions 24 journaled in the overlying and underlying portions of the members, the bearings for the trunnions being composed in part of removable plates 25.

-openings, that in one of the blocks being smooth as at 25a, and smaller than the opening 26 in the other block, which opening is threaded to receive the screw 27, which screw has a smooth shank 28, ,tting in opening 25.

The smooth shank terminates in a thread engaged by nuts 29, and a washer 30 is interposed between Vthe nuts and the block. rlhe shank 28 also extends through a member 31 of a thrust bearing which also comprises a plate 32 secured rigidly on the angular portion "33 of the screw,`and balls 34 interposed between plates 32 and 31, the threaded portion at one end bearing against the plate 32 and being provided at its opposite end with a cross lever or handleV handle or lever ends of the members, the clamp can be readily engaged with or .disengaged from the wire Vrope or cable without detaching any part of the appliance, as has been the case heretofore. In this connection it is desired to call attention to the fact that for worlr of this character, it is essential to guard against accidental slip page ot the cable through the clamp, hence all ot the appliance for use upon drilling ropes or cables have been arranged so that the rope or cable entends through the clamp at a point between the pivot point and what may be termed the handle or lever end thereof. lfith my construction, however, l, can obtain the requisite gripping or clamping action on the rope by an action similar to that of the ordinary pipe vrench or pliers, the use ot' the ball thrust bearing and pivoted or swiveled blocks in the bifurcated ends ot the members ot the clamp guarding against any cramping action which vwould interfere with the practically instantaneous gripping or releasing of the rope or cable.

rlhe operation of the appliance is the same as well known appliances, it being only occasional that it is necessary to operate the screw 2? after the wire rope or cable has been once secured in the clamp. To accommodate the progress ot the drill, the attendant operates the sleeve by means ot the handle 3 and then lowers the clamp sumciently to accommodate the progress ot the drill, it being et course understood that the turning of the sleeve to lower the clamp does not impart rotation thereto to twist the cable.

It the person in control of the mechanism desires to provide for adjustment ot the clamp on the cable without the operation of the sleeve 2, that is by permitting the cable to slip through the clamp to accommodate the progress of the drill, the upper ends of the grooves in the slips will be iiared as at 36, the flaring of the grooves guarding against injury to the cable as it slides frictionally between the slips, and by dovetailing the latter in the jaws and providing them with the arms 19 resting on and secured to the top of the jaws, precaution is taken against any possibility of the aceidental loss of the slips in the well being bored.

From the above description it will be apparent that l have produced a wire rope or cable clamp possessing the features ot advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the object of the invention, and I wish it to be understood that while l have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, I reserve the right to make all changes falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A wire rope or cable clamp comprising pivoted members having jaws at one side of the pivot and swiveled blocks at the other side of the pivot, a pair of slips secured in the inner faces of the jaws and arovided with opposing semicylindrical grooves and also provided with arms at their upper ends resting and secured upon the upper ends of the jaws, in combination with a screw eX- tend-ing through said blocks and bearing a threaded relation to one of them and av ournaled relation to the other and incapable of longitudinal movement through the latter, and a handle for turning said screw.

2. The combination ot a pair of members pivoted together between their ends and provided with gripping jawsat one end, and a screw extending through the members at their opposite ends and bearing a swiveled relation thereto; said screw also bearing a threaded relation to one ot the members and a journaled relation to the other and a fixed relation as regards endwise movement to the last-mentioned member.

8. T he combination of a pair of members pivoted together between their ends and provided with gripping jaws at one end, a block swiveled on each member, a screw extending through said blocks and journaled in one of them and threaded in the other, a thrust bearing between the screw and the inner side of the block in which the screw is jour-V naled, and means secured to the screw and bearing against the outer side of the block in which the screw is journaled.

ln testimony whereof, I atIiX my signature, in the presence or' two witnesses.

ALBERT P. MCBRIDE. Y

Witnesses:

I. E. WHITNEY, Gao. A. SnRYocK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for jive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

